Licence mooted for private landlords

All private landlords would have to be registered before letting residential property under government plans to curb abuses in the growing rental market.

Easy access to buy-to-let mortgages over the past decade has meant that the number of private landlords has risen to about one million in England and Wales, and ministers are worried that a growing number of unscrupulous landlords are exploiting tenants.

Anyone letting a residential property would have to pay about £50 to register with a national body. This would include developers, buy-to-let investors and the growing ranks of “accidental landlords” who cannot sell their homes and have been forced to let them out instead.

Scottish housebuilder Springfield Properties has announced the appointment of two new managing directors in its private housing division alongside a trading update showing revenue and profit growth for H1.